Well, just surfing again and I must say I just learnt something...

Well, just surfing again and I must say I just learnt something new

Previously I had gone merrily down the path of WBT/NXR having "multimodal" biometrics now as per the last Ann's (5/3 & 12/3) and thinking all "multis" were all the same.....fail......lol

Reading the Ann's again, the wording used for the new system is actually "multi-biometric" and (5/3) specifically says incorporating other eye based modalities (pural? multi factor?). Anyway, think we can prob rule out iris / retina due to reliance on NIR so curious what else could be - find out soon hopefully.

Anyway, two articles if interested - Diff Types of Multi-Biometrics and basic Evaluation Parameters (think WBT pretty well cover these IMO   ).

Links for those that just want to click and cut/paste below for those who wish to read here

http://techbiometric.com/articles/learn-about-different-types-of-multi-biometric-systems

http://techbiometric.com/articles/parameters-to-evaluate-biometric-technologies

Multi-biometric systems have come a long way by addressing biometric issues and concerns in a better manner. With constant research in the field, the developers and manufacturers have come up with different types of multi-biometric systems, each one to entertain the specific requirements. You can continue reading further to learn about various multi-biometric systems available in the market.

Multi Sensor Biometric Systems
As the name suggest, these biometric systems consist of multiple sensors to capture the data more than once and then combine them to deliver accurate data matching process. For instance, 2D cameras as well as infrared sensors can be used in a multi-biometric system to capture the images of an individual in different types of illuminations. The process provides a higher sophistication level to the security offered by these systems.

Multi Algorithm Biometric Systems
Algorithms are important parts of biometric systems to carry out the process of sampling and identification. How about combining more than one algorithm to enhance the level of security? The multi-algorithm biometric systems are economical than other types, as extra sensors and other devices are not required. Though, one can expect them to be more complex.

Multi Sample Biometric Systems
In this type of biometric systems, the multiple samples of the same physical trait are captured to produce samples that are good enough to provide more secure identification. For instance, apart from the front profile of a person’s face, the side profiles can also be used to prepare the identification samples.

Multi Instance Biometric Systems
You have 10 fingers and 2 irises and thus, biometric technology can make use of all the fingers or both the irises to prepare different instances and combine them to form specific biometric samples. As it is clear, better biometric access control arrangements can be acquired using the procedure.   

Multimodal Biometric Systems
A simple way of enhancing the utility of biometrics is to combine samples from two physically uncorrelated features of an individual and the resulting system can be called the multimodal biometric system. For example, voice patterns can be combined with face recognition or iris patterns with fingerprints and so on. Going further, the hybrid biometric systems have been devised to combine, say two iris samples with three face patterns and so on.

In this way, multi-biometric systems keep on evolving in different types, thereby making biometrics a popular technology for identification and access control.



Whenever a biometric technology starts making news, the experts evaluate it on the basis of a number of important parameters. These parameters can actually be called the traits of biometric technologies. Success of any of these technologies depends upon the level at which each of these parameters is accomplished. What these parameters are and how useful they are in assessing a biometric system?

• Universality – The first parameter in this direction is universality that demands that each and every person in the world should have the characteristic on which a particular technology is based. DNS, iris and retinal scan based biometric technologies appositely satisfy this parameter.

• Uniqueness – An important biometric evaluation parameter is how uniquely the technology differentiates among different individuals. For instance, fingerprint based biometric systems are highly successful as far as this particular parameter is concerned. Same can be said about DNA based biometric identification.

• Permanence – The third important parameter is permanence which decides that for what time period an individual will respond towards a biometric based system without showing any variance. Age is an important factor that affects this parameter. Fingerprint, iris and DNA are the successful biometrics for this parameter.

• Collectability – As the name suggests, this parameter is used to evaluate a system based on biometrics by considering the easiness with which required data can be obtained. In this regard, you can find face, gait and signature based biometrics to be highly useful.

• Performance – Accuracy and robustness are two important expectations from biometric systems. These factors sum up to decide another important parameter called performance of a biometric based system. Fingerprint and DNA based biometrics are trusted in terms of performance.

• Acceptability – This parameter decides the fields in which biometric technologies are acceptable. Face recognition, voice recognition and signature based identification are easy to implement in different environments.

• Circumvention – The final parameter is circumvention that decides how easily a substitute can be prepared to fail a biometric based system. DNA, for example, is the most difficult human characteristic to fail. Fingerprints, on the other hand, are easy to circumvent.

The use of these parameters is also significant to compare different biometric technologies. Biometric consumers often finalize systems and devices to avail biometric security by comparing them on the basis of these parameters.